A former RAF pilot has said alcohol was a method used in the armed forces for soldiers to avoid their problems in the 80s and 90s.
Members of the RAF would attend a happy hour between 5-6pm on a Friday, giving people the opportunity to blow off steam and suppress built up emotions.
Mental health was reportedly treated with a stiff upper lip attitude.
Paul Kennard served in the RAF for 23 years, and the former Royal Air Force pilot said: “Our coping mechanisms were alcohol, dark humour, and sarcasm.
“Alcohol was the ability to loosen you up, so you drank to loosen up enough to talk to somebody about it.
“You got your dirty linen done in that hour, you’d drink to forget, you’d have three pints and you’d go and you’d seek people out.
“That kind of works to an extent, but for some of the genuine trauma and crisis, that’s very difficult to unpack in that way.”
Alcohol was used as a social lubricant, and for some suffering with PTSD, after one traumatic event, they snapped.
RAF members felt reluctant to talk to the doctor about personal issues because of the lack of support and the perceived risk of losing their job.
Kennard said: “Aircrew and doctors are natural enemies because the doctor can stop you flying and so you are really, really reluctant to go and talk to the doctor about anything.
“You’re not going to tell him that you’ve gone a bit deaf, you’re not going to tell him your eyesight’s starting to fail, you’re not going to tell him you’ve got a pain.
“You don’t want to go to the doctor because the doctor can say, ‘you’re no longer fit to fly fella’.
“In my day, literally, you go to your flight commander, you say, I’m really hurting, the doctor will give you two massive painkillers until you jog on.
“The outlet was basically the pub or the Padre.”
Padres were trained listeners in the military and their role was to listen and not judge, to act as a shoulder to cry on for those in the forces.
Paul Kennard claims that as the cultural norms have changed, the Friday night booze has largely disappeared, with those in the armed forces not offered a way of releasing built up stress from mentally challenging experiences in the Royal Air Force.
Friday’s happy hour regime has not been in place now for decades, and mental health in the armed forces has improved in terms of stigmas since the 90s, but remains a huge issue in terms of the mental health services available.
A Royal Air Force spokesperson said: “We are committed to the mental health and wellbeing of our Armed Forces personnel and recognise that service life can cause stress.”
The RAF has mental health initiatives and policies to improve mental health fitness and resilience such as the MOD 24 hour mental health phoneline, a mental health support website showcasing videos, tools and activities called HeadFIT, and online courses such as the Senior Leaders Mental Fitness and Resilience Course (SLMFR), the Annual Mental Fitness Brief (AMFB), single services to deliver mental resilience and stress management training, and Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) to support those dealing with the aftermath of traumatic incidents.
Photo credit: Daniel Klein – Unsplash
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